Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-09-16

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-09-16
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-09-16

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Sep 16

● Final69 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Sep 9Sep 16Sep 23 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

953 head

▲ 686 vs last sale 267▲ 480 vs year ago 473 · +101.5%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

247 head

▲ 156 vs last sale 91▲ 25 vs year ago 222 · +11.3%

Replacement Cattle receipts

18 head

▼ 111 vs last sale 129▼ 67 vs year ago 85 · −78.8%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (9-09-20): Yearling steers and heifers were all too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on the steers and steady to firm undertones were noticed on the heifers. Unweaned calves were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings and calves was moderate. Quality this week was average to attractive. Yearlings were offered in mostly mostly medium to large size packages with a few load lots seen as well. All feeders on offer were in light flesh. Yearling weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this week with many sets pushing heavy amounts of fill. Market activity this week was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light offerings. Feeding buyers were the market driver this week as additional buyers were in the market purchasing cows to feed. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady 3.00 higher on lean cows. Boning and breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher. Weight up conditions were average to below average this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to firm. Cow quality this week was mostly average. Young age 2-3 year old cows suitable to re-breed were too lightly tested to trend, however steady undertones were noticed.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $132.42/cwt on 512 head.

Average price

$132.42

512 head · 796 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,054

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$436

per head · Medium 1 over Large 1

$16.36/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.60

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	639	137.00	875	36
Medium and Large 1-2	657	135.36	890	28
Medium and Large 1	798	133.86	1,069	364
Medium 1-2	605	127.17	770	33
Large 1	1,087	120.64	1,311	51

One grade step is worth $16.36/cwt here — about −$436 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale512 hd

132.42

—

MT average3 barns · 2,280 hd

133.01

−0.60

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	High	1,730	80.90	1,399	45
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,581	64.22	1,015	20
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,394	61.32	855	97
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,194	59.05	705	74

Every lot

69 lots · USDA AMS · Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added. Grouped by class and set lightest first; USDA files them in sale-ring order.

Class	Weight	Grade / description	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Feeder Cattle · Steers17 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	353	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	600	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	387	183.32/cwt	180.00–185.00	709	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	411	172.00/cwt	172.00–172.00	707	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	499	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	813	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	590	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	856	4
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	607	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	850	14
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	706	143.50/cwt	143.50–143.50	1,013	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	717	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	982	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	758	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	1,054	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	777	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	1,103	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	827	141.29/cwt	138.50–144.00	1,168	84
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	875	137.91/cwt	137.25–139.50	1,207	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	932	133.02/cwt	132.50–133.25	1,240	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	933	128.00/cwt	128.00–128.00	1,194	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	977	127.78/cwt	125.50–132.00	1,248	35
Steers	—	Large 1	1,015	123.69/cwt	123.00–124.50	1,255	13
Steers	—	Large 1Full	1,015	121.50/cwt	121.50–121.50	1,233	7
Feeder Cattle · Heifers24 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	302	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	468	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	468	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	651	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	496	148.67/cwt	148.00–149.00	737	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	515	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	762	8
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	547	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	695	7
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	621	127.21/cwt	126.50–128.00	790	26
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	636	141.25/cwt	141.25–141.25	898	37
Heifers	—	Medium 1	639	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	875	36
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	681	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	913	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	685	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	959	33
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	760	137.57/cwt	134.00–137.75	1,046	64
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	776	130.50/cwt	130.50–130.50	1,013	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	780	131.01/cwt	129.00–133.00	1,022	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	814	126.50/cwt	126.50–126.50	1,030	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	825	133.32/cwt	130.25–134.00	1,100	107
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	869	128.84/cwt	128.50–129.25	1,120	24
Heifers	—	Large 1	888	124.50/cwt	124.50–124.50	1,106	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	901	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	1,090	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	909	126.50/cwt	126.50–126.50	1,150	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	928	128.19/cwt	127.00–129.00	1,190	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	974	126.12/cwt	125.00–128.25	1,228	24
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	997	119.69/cwt	119.50–122.00	1,193	21
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,031	119.86/cwt	119.50–120.50	1,236	14
Heifers	—	Large 1Fancy	1,135	120.50/cwt	120.50–120.50	1,368	33
Feeder Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	313	174.00/cwt	174.00–174.00	545	5
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	459	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	711	7
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	520	132.50/cwt	132.50–132.50	689	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	970	106.00/cwt	106.00–106.00	1,028	1
Feeder Cattle · Dairy Steers1 lot · lightest first
Dairy Steers	—	Large 3	980	61.00/cwt	61.00–61.00	598	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,210	75.00/cwt	75.00–75.00	908	1
Bulls	—	—	1,701	81.57/cwt	78.50–85.50	1,388	27
Bulls	—	—	1,713	76.30/cwt	73.00–78.50	1,307	12
Bulls	—	—	2,028	89.52/cwt	88.50–93.00	1,815	5
Slaughter Cattle · Cows16 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,091	66.00/cwt	66.00–66.00	720	8
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,177	55.75/cwt	52.00–59.00	656	22
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,180	48.00/cwt	48.00–48.00	566	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,208	62.13/cwt	61.00–64.00	751	26
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,217	62.64/cwt	62.00–64.00	762	3
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,227	56.02/cwt	52.00–59.50	687	12
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,349	58.29/cwt	55.00–60.00	786	31
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,368	46.00/cwt	46.00–46.00	629	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,387	56.21/cwt	55.00–58.00	780	5
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,402	63.23/cwt	61.00–64.50	886	12
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,410	62.38/cwt	60.00–64.50	880	35
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,437	65.58/cwt	65.00–66.00	942	12
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,520	65.53/cwt	65.00–66.00	996	2
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,544	67.61/cwt	67.50–68.00	1,044	5
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,583	63.03/cwt	62.00–67.00	998	14
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,740	64.00/cwt	64.00–64.00	1,114	1
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows3 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,117	63.42/cwt	62.00–66.50	708	7
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,152	66.50/cwt	66.50–66.50	766	3
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,245	71.88/cwt	70.00–74.00	895	3

This sale against other markets

Montana weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every Montana auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

Montana feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)

Wed Sep 16, 2020

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Billings, MT (LS-BL)

Feeder CattleReceipts 953Last week 267Year ago 473

Slaughter CattleReceipts 247Last week 91Year ago 222

Replacement CattleReceipts 18Last week 129Year ago 85

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	758	139.00	139.00
8	—	706	143.50	143.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	607	140.00	140.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	1,015	123.00–124.50	123.69

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
35	—	977	125.50–132.00	127.78
21	—	875	137.25–139.50	137.91
13	—	932	132.50–133.25	133.02
84	—	827	138.50–144.00	141.29
6	—	777	142.00	142.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	353	170.00	170.00
4	—	590	145.00	145.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,015	121.50	121.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	387	180.00–185.00	183.32
4	—	411	172.00	172.00
9	—	499	163.00	163.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	933	128.00	128.00
13	—	717	137.00	137.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Steers — Large 3$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	980	61.00	61.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
37	—	636	141.25	141.25
10	—	928	127.00–129.00	128.19
24	—	869	128.50–129.25	128.84
64	—	760	134.00–137.75	137.57
107	—	825	130.25–134.00	133.32
24	—	974	125.00–128.25	126.12
33	—	685	140.00	140.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	814	126.50	126.50
6	—	776	130.50	130.50
19	—	909	126.50	126.50
21	—	997	119.50–122.00	119.69

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	468	139.00	139.00
5	—	302	155.00	155.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
33	—	1,135	120.50	120.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	888	124.50	124.50
14	—	1,031	119.50–120.50	119.86

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
36	—	639	137.00	137.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	547	127.00	127.00
26	—	621	126.50–128.00	127.21

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	496	148.00–149.00	148.67
8	—	515	148.00	148.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	901	121.00	121.00
6	—	681	134.00	134.00
10	—	780	129.00–133.00	131.01

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	970	106.00	106.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	313	174.00	174.00
7	—	459	155.00	155.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	520	132.50	132.50

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,245	70.00–74.00	71.88
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	7	—	1,117	62.00–66.50	63.42

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,152	66.50	66.50

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	2,028	88.50–93.00	89.52
12	—	1,713	73.00–78.50	76.30
27	—	1,701	78.50–85.50	81.57

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,210	75.00	75.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
35	—	1,410	60.00–64.50	62.38
12	—	1,437	65.00–66.00	65.58
31	—	1,349	55.00–60.00	58.29

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	1,227	52.00–59.50	56.02
2	—	1,368	46.00	46.00
3	—	1,217	62.00–64.00	62.64

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,180	48.00	48.00
8	—	1,091	66.00	66.00
22	—	1,177	52.00–59.00	55.75
26	—	1,208	61.00–64.00	62.13

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,520	65.00–66.00	65.53
5	—	1,387	55.00–58.00	56.21
12	—	1,402	61.00–64.50	63.23

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,740	64.00	64.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,544	67.50–68.00	67.61
14	—	1,583	62.00–67.00	63.03

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.